[冬奧]All eyes will be on top-seeded Canada.
The most anticipated event of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics will bestaged in two venues - Canada Hockey Place and the UBC ThunderbirdArena. To save on renovation costs, games will be played on NorthAmerican-sized ice surfaces, rather than converting to the largerinternational size.
4 q' c: h S, E3 a6 [0 G2 KThe stage is set for perhaps the greatest men's hockeytournament ever. Twelve teams, divided into three groups, will includethe best of the NHL, likely for the last time. ; y8 ^ ]: w8 N' e4 D# l; c
All eyes will beon top-seeded Canada. Led by arguably the world's best goaltenders inRoberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur, a mix of experienced Olympians andnew blood will try to avoid the pitfalls of its disastrous quarterfinalloss to Russia in the 2006 Games and return to its 2002 gold-medalform. 4 {9 `* I* E) ]$ h5 S
Canada's challengers will be many. No. 2-seeded Russiawill boast many of the NHL's hottest scorers in Alexander Ovechkin,Evgeny Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk. Defending gold medallist Sweden,seeded third, will likely be without Mats Sundin but loaded with starsfrom the reigning Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. TheAmericans, Czechs, Finns and Slovaks round out the watch list.
@' J8 t* p- Itvb now,tvbnow,bttvbWiththe best female player in the world in Hayley Wickenheiser, Canada isalso seeded No. 1 in the women's eight-team tournament. Although losingto the rival U.S. team in the final at the 2008 World Championships,Canada has captured the last two Olympic gold medals and nine worldchampionships in the past 11 years. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb5 }4 k( d8 B/ g" @( Q9 f3 [
The No. 2-seeded U.S.A. hasbeefed up its training schedule to take aim at its first gold medalsince 1998, trying to forget 2006 when it shockingly settled forOlympic bronze.
( H% l6 X) T. W8 N6 N; bSweden, the No. 3 seed and 2006 silver medallist, and No. 4 Finland rally to close the gap with the North American teams. |
發表於 2010-2-14 03:44 AM
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